It can be one of the most frustrating¹ things in life – waiting in line at the supermarket. 

 

在超市排队结账确是一件很让人懊恼崩溃的事儿。

 

But new research shows that a few simple 'life hacks²' can make the process much quicker and pain-free than you may think. 

 

Choosing to be served by female cashiers, standing³ in queues that feed into several tills and spying on other shoppers' grocery shop are just some of the ways to avoid the dreaded⁴ queues.

 

And opting⁵ for checkouts⁷ on the left or queuing behind shoppers with a trolley⁸ could also help cut down the amount of time waiting in line. 

 

The 'life hacks' have emerged after researchers found that the average Briton spends between one and six months of their life standing in line at the shops. 

 

Desmos, a US organisation⁹ that promotes maths, technology and data, has spent months analysing supermarket data and has revealed the best ways to beat the queues. 

 

Dan Meyer, a former maths teacher turned chief academic officer at Desmos, said it takes a baseline of 41 seconds for each customer to pass through a till, with an additional three seconds added on per item they are purchasing. 

 

'Every person requires a fixed¹⁰ amount of time to say hello, pay, say goodbye and clear out of the lane,' he told the New York Times. 

 

He said the data showed that standing in line with numerous customers who are buying fewer items - such as basket shoppers at the '10 items or less' checkout⁶ - can be a bad choice. Instead, he says it actually works out quicker to stand behind one person with a trolley full of items, as the face-to-face interaction time is quicker than having to wait for the cashier to greet numerous shoppers. 

 

Meanwhile, Robert Samuel, founder¹¹ of the New York-based Same Ole Line Dudes - a service that stands in line on behalf of customers - said most people are right-handed and therefore tend to queue on the right-hand side. He advises customers to queue on the left, and said he opts¹² for female cashiers. 

 

'This may seem sexist, but I prefer female cashiers. In my experience they seem to be the most expedient¹³ at register transactions and processing,' he told the newspaper.

 

His other advice includes always facing bar codes toward the cashier, removing the hangers¹⁴ of clothes before they are scanned and splitting the items between yourself and a friend to get through the tills quicker.

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